Universitys newest meningitis vaccine research to be showcased at Discovery Day
An open outreach event will showcase the latest meningitis vaccine research carried out by the Department of Genetics at the University and Public Health England at Manchester.
The ‘Discovery Day’, in partnership with the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF), will take place from 18:00-20:00 on Wednesday 8 June and aims to involve fundraisers and people who have directly been impacted by the disease, providing an opportunity to see first-hand the meningitis vaccine research being conducted.
Dr Chris Bayliss, from the Department of Genetics at the University, leads the research and aims to develop a test capable of measuring the level of one of the protein antigens, fHbp, in the new MenB vaccine, Bexsero®, in order to help assess the effectiveness of this vaccine.
Such a test would make it possible to predict whether a strain contains enough fHbp to be covered by Bexsero® for disease cases where the meningitis-causing bacteria have not been obtained.
Dr Chris Bayliss said: “Robust evaluation of protection by the new protein-based MenB vaccines has raised challenges requiring development of sophisticated molecular tests."
The vaccine is currently only available to newborn babies and those at increased risk of meningococcal disease in the United Kingdom. It is hoped that this research will be recognised by medical professionals and can therefore pave the way for wider distribution of the vaccine in the future.